Brief Description
From the outset, one could tell that the odds were stacked against Joseph Gonsalves — a promising boy born into a vicious cycle of abuse and neglect. Given up for adoption by his mother as she fled domestic abuse, he was thrust into the hands of relatives who treated him as lesser than.
With a rice bag for a bed, the young boy — born in British Guiana, 1947 — grew with the hardship of the times and his circumstances.
As a teen, he studied and worked for long hours, many times well into the morning, without seeing a dime of his wages which went directly to his family.
By the time he was 18 years old, he was suffering from high blood pressure. Then, like a blessing in disguise, he joined the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in 1968, entering a world of discipline, adventure and duty.
Amid it all, when he least expected it, Gonsalves met the love of his life, his partner and best friend. The two would face the world together. At his side, she was like therapy to his trauma.
The once undervalued child would go on to be elevated to the highest rank of Warrant Officer Class One within the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) rank. He would also become the recipient of Guyana’s fifth highest award of the Order of Service, the Military Service Medal (MSM) in 1998.
The consistent theme throughout Gonsalves’ life is one of resilience when others would have expected defeat. His story is raw and real, one that lingers in the mind well after reading. To some it will serve as caution; to others, it comes as hope. Hope that despite the circumstances we can rise like a phoenix from the ashes.
PHOENIX: THE LIFE OF AN ABUSED CHILD
- ASIN: B09919C1DR
- Publisher : Independently published (July 9, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 51 pages
- ISBN-13 : 979-8530566189
- Item Weight : 4.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.12 x 9 inches